NEW REIGN || Tommy Shelby

VII. GETAWAY CAR

- GETAWAY CAR -

She was in the car for no more than five minutes by the time they were completely stopped in traffic. The sky was dark and all she could see ahead of her were cars stopped for blocks. They were stuck.

"How far is Samhurst?" she asked the driver, her knee bouncing relentlessly. Her only comfort was that Sabini and his men would also be stuck in the same holdup.

"It's just around the corner," the driver said with a wave of his hand. "Just to the left up here."

She couldn't wait any longer. Rain had started to pour down and the city was already darkened with thick clouds. She hopped out of the cab and started to run, ignoring the driver's shouts as she maneuvered through the sea of people.

If she had not been looking, she might have missed it. It wasn't the grand entrance she had expected, but Sabini most likely wanted it that way. Coppers were't going to look for gang members and illegal activity where they couldn't find it. There was a small sign by a set of stairs that led down to a red painted door, so she took a deep breath and descended quickly.

What the entrance lacked in grandeur, the club itself did not. As she pushed open the door, she was greeted by a gold walls and chandeliers, every wall draped in fine fabrics and shining mirrors. The air was thick with smoke and smelled sweet of opium and tobacco. The only shocking thing was that it was empty- no musicians, no dancers, no servers. Nothing. She came through the foyer and into the main room, which was just as splendid as the first room, and her jaw dropped.

Stood on the musician's stage and surrounded by instruments that looked like they had been dropped in a hurry, was Arthur. He was covered in blood and his hair was sticking in every direction. And there was a man lying at his feet, unmoving.

"What the hell-"

John turned from where he was sitting and Rose barely had time to register the man that was also lying still under his chair.

She tried again. "What the hell?"

"What are you doing here?" John asked, standing and taking off his jacket. She tried to ignore the blood on his hands as he handed it to her and she pulled it over her soaked dress.

"I-" she started, not even sure what she would say. She had so many question.

"I don't have time to explain," she decided, shaking her head. "Sabini is on his way right now. He's bringing men with him to, I don't know, rectify this shit show."

She gestured blindly at the entirety of the club- the dance floor littered with broken glass, the tables flipped over, the third man that she spotted lying still on the bar. The more she looked the worse it got.

Arthur let out a low chuckle. She must have looked some sort of confused and angry, because he lifted his hands in surrender and explained.

"This was all to get his attention," he smiled. "I'm just glad it wasn't in vain."

Rose rolled her eyes, still looking over them both and trying to figure out if the blood that covered their hands was theirs or not.

"Where's Tommy?" she said, finally asking the question that had been repeating in her head again and again.

"He's pulling the car around-"

"No, no- he won't make it away in time, there's an accident or something. The roads are totally blocked."

"Shit," John hissed under his breath.

She racked her brain for ideas. "You two, just go- start walking towards the house and stay out of sight. Sabini's men will know you're in the area so keep quiet and don't wear those fucking hats, okay?"